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Hi there,
I've just noticed that in my 2004 Toyota Allex the red shift-interlock override button that's above the 'P' sign of the gear lever do absolutely nothing.
With the engine off, key not in ignition , and brakes not pressed , I can press the button just fine but the gear lever won't move out of park no matter what i do (whilst pressing the red button).
The gear lever button itself (the big main one) is in the locked position.
All other situations are as normal , if i put the key in acc/start and press the brake then i can move the lever from P to L just fine, and the gearshifts are fine too.
Is this something that's potentially gonna be expensive to repair ? Do you know what it could be ?
My personal mechanic doesn't know what it could be as even in his old toyota it works without pressing anything or entering the keys , just pressing the little button is fine.
Should I keep driving the car ( i use the motorway alot during the week to and from work) ?
Thanks in advance!
This sounds like a very small problem. The override button merely allows the lever to be moved out of Park in the event the battery is flat, there's no brake light signal or something similar. Most cars don't even have such a button, and to move the lever out of Park when something goes wrong, you need to remove the lever surround and move the interlock solenoid back with a screwdriver. There's probably some small part jammed or broken which should be an easy repair.
In the mean time, it's not causing any problem and the reality is that unless your battery goes flat and there's no-one around to juimp start you and perhaps you're parked in an inconvenient place so need to push the car, you're never likely to need this button.
Thank goodness it's no biggie.
It's true that i've never had to use this button.
But this morning I gave it a try again and I noticed one thing:
If the engine off + no brake signal + no key inserted , the override button does nothing.
If engine off + no brake signal + key inserted in ACC position , the override button works and lets you shift gear without pressing the brake.
Maybe it's a design feature ?